The limbo of displacement

Pakistan govt is under internal pressure to send back both unregistered & registered Afghans living across the country

The refugee crisis has become a dominant topic in Western media due to the recent influx of Syrian refugees into Europe. The problem of refugees fleeing conflict and violence is, however, more longstanding, and also extends well beyond the borders of Europe. According to the UNHCR, 2014 witnessed the highest number of refugees worldwide since the Second World War. Last year, with more Syrians fleeing violence, the total number of refugees increased further, climbing to the unprecedented level of over 65 million people. According to the most recently available figures, Palestinians still comprise the largest group of refugees at more than five million. Syria is now next on the list, with 4.9 million refugees, followed by 2.7 million Afghans, and over a million Somalis.

While Europe is buckling due to the pressure of its Syrian refugee influx, countries like Turkey and Jordan are contending with an even larger share of the Syrian displacement. In the case of Palestinians, Afghans and Somalis, however, generations have now been living as refugees due to the lingering conflicts in their home countries. Moreover, other countries like Iran and Pakistan have been home to Afghan refugees since decades. Pakistan itself is well aware of the challenges of hosting refugees given that over 3.5 million Afghan refugees have come across its borders over the past three decades. Approximately, 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees, and more than one million unregistered Afghan nationals still reside in Pakistan. While some Afghan refugees have done well for themselves in Pakistan, or else managed to move onto greener pastures, the bulk of them have had to struggle to make ends meet given the lack of resources available to look after them in the host country, as well as the scant international commitment to provide for their needs. The deteriorating security situation within Pakistan has worsened the already precarious situation of Afghan refugees.

The Pakistan government is under growing internal pressure to send back both unregistered and registered Afghans living across the country. While international agencies like the UNHCR have been opposing the forced return of refugees, UNHCR payments of $150 to each refugee returning to Afghanistan has hardly motivated a significant proportion of the refugee population to return home. Pakistan had set a deadline of December last year for the repatriation of registered Afghan refugees, which was extended to the end of this current month. The government has now further extended the deadline by another six months.

The Afghan government, on the other hand, has done little to address the problem. According to Amnesty International, a staggering 1.2 million people are currently internally displaced within Afghanistan, which is a dramatic increase from some 500,000 IDPs in 2013. The Afghan government is not only unable to contend with the security situation which is compelling an increasing number of Afghans to flee their homes, it has also not done much to meet the needs of this displaced population. The Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation is facing allegations of corruption and inefficiency. Such a situation hardly evokes confidence amongst Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, or elsewhere, to return home.

Given that the conflict between the Afghan government and militant groups shows no signs of abating, and may probably get worse, and the waning international community resolve to support the Afghan government, the situation does not bode well either for the Afghans who are displaced internally within the country, or are refugees in a neighbouring country which is growing increasingly weary of hosting them.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2016.

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